In three years and nearly a dozen visits, yesterday was the most inspiring day I’ve had in Yemen. I saw something that made me truly optimistic for the future of the country, in the form of five teenage guys that are competing in a regional competition for the Best New Business. They’ve already developed their own company, Port Mokha, exporting genuine Mokha Coffee from Yemen; what was even more surprising was the variety of their talents beyond business acumen.
INJAZ, the organization running the competition, is a regional organization that supports young entrepreneurs throughout the Arab world, and this team representing Yemen was headed to Morocco for the competition. Their enthusiasm was contagious – they were bright, ambitious, motivated and confident.
They developed Port Mokha coffee company with training and guidance from INJAZ. Here’s their sales pitch: “We offer the world top-notch Yemeni coffee from the high mountains of the Southern Arabian Peninsula…With every sip of this authentic brew, we offer our customers a unique and satisfactory cultural and sensory experience.”
Their product isn’t just about the coffee (which I’m sure is the best) because part of their business model is a commitment to give back to the community and a sense of civic responsibility. The coffee comes in a cloth bag made from traditional Yemeni fabric that is made by an income-generating association employing the mentally disabled; part of their profits will be donated to the association.
To everyone’s surprise, two of them started beat boxing and rapping in mix of Spanish, English and Arabic. The song spoke of cross-culture acceptance, the mixing of language and tradition, and a sense of strong pride in their country. I was speechless. In a country where the dropout rate for kids 8 -14 years old is more than 80 percent, where illiteracy rates are among the highest in the world, and where chewing qat (a mild narcotic leaf) is the national pastime, it was inspiring to see their creativity and initiative.
They may not win the competition in Morocco, but I know they won’t be discouraged and will continue to invest in themselves and their country. I walked out with two bags of coffee and an undeniable sense of hope.
CIPE recently produced “Destructive Beast,” a documentary on corruption in Yemen featuring corruption’s effects on entrepreneurs and Yemeni youth challenging their leaders to do something about it. Read more and watch a clip from the film here.
Published Date: October 27, 2010